ELDERLY patients could be moved out of hospital into empty sheltered accommodation to prevent "bed blocking" at Burnley General hospital.

Council bosses have unveiled plans to offer patients places in sheltered housing to free hospital beds over the winter.

Burnley Council wants to use a number of vacant flats at Gerald Court sheltered housing scheme as temporary accommodation for elderly and homeless patients who are discharged from the hospital.

But the plan has been slammed by independent councillor Harry Brooks who claimed: "It is absolutely disgusting."

The move is the council's response to an appeal by Health Secretary Frank Dobson to help ease the winter pressure on hospitals and to solve the problem of bed-blocking.

But Councillor Brooks claims there has been little consultation with the warden and none at all with residents.

He said: "It is another sign of the Government doing things on the cheap. "Gerald Court is not a convalescent home and cannot provide proper care for these people. It is absolutely disgusting.

"The residents have been treated in a contemptible way by a contemptible council. They have been completely ignored and it is appalling that anyone should have thought these people were not worth talking to."

Coun Peter Kenyon said: "What we have here is this council's response to an appeal by the Secretary of State for help from councils to ease the winter pressures on the NHS.

"If we were not able to help by offering suitable accommodation, the likelihood is these people would have to stay in hospital preventing other people from using those beds.''

Coun Marcus Johnstone said: "We are making better use of resources and trying to solve the problem of bed blocking at the hospital and Coun Brooks calls it contemptible and disgusting.

"He would rather the old folk were left to rot in hospital than to live at Gerald Court.''

Housing vice-chairman, Coun Donald Hall, said he had discussed the situation with the warden and was attending another meeting at Gerald Court. No residents would be asked to move from their own flat to make way for others.

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